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Switching from Cloudways Flexible to Cloudways Autonomous offers a range of benefits, including true autoscaling, high availability, and enhanced performance. This article provides a comprehensive checklist to guide you through the migration process, ensuring a smooth transition. You will learn about the necessary pre-migration preparations, data migration steps, DNS configuration, and post-migration tasks to leverage Cloudways Autonomous's features fully.
Tip
For more detailed information on Cloudways Autonomous and answers to common questions, please take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions About Cloudways Autonomous.
What is Cloudways Autonomous
Cloudways Autonomous is a hands-off, fully managed cloud hosting solution designed specifically for WordPress and WooCommerce applications. Built on Kubernetes, Cloudways Autonomous offers true autoscaling and high availability, ensuring your website can handle sudden traffic spikes without compromising performance. This platform automates server management, optimization, and maintenance tasks, allowing you to focus on your core business activities while enjoying a robust and scalable hosting environment.
Cloudways Autonomous Features
Cloudways Autonomous comes packed with various features designed to enhance the performance, security, and scalability of your WordPress and WooCommerce websites. Here are some of the key features:
True Autoscaling and High Availability
Dynamic Resource Allocation: Automatically adjusts resources based on real-time traffic demands without manual intervention.
Kubernetes-Powered: Leverages Kubernetes for efficient and reliable autoscaling and load balancing.
Redundant Application Instances: Ensures minimal downtime by deploying multiple application instances across different data centers.
Continuous Service: Maintains uninterrupted service for your visitors, even during traffic surges.
Integrated Cloudflare Enterprise
DDoS Protection: Protects your website from DDoS attacks.
Web Application Firewall (WAF): Protects against malicious attacks and emerging online threats.
Edge Caching: Stores web pages at the edge for faster content delivery to users worldwide.
Object Cache Pro
Enhanced Data Retrieval: Caches database queries for faster response times, reducing server load during high-traffic periods.
Improved User Experience: Particularly beneficial for eCommerce sites, ensuring smooth checkout and cart processes.
Multiple PHP Versions per Application
Flexible Configuration: Supports different PHP versions for each application, enabling compatibility and performance optimization.
24/7 Expert Support
Round-the-Clock Assistance: Offers professional technical support anytime to resolve issues and provide guidance.
Cloudways Autonomous is an excellent choice for businesses that experience high traffic volumes, such as eCommerce stores, media websites, influencers, and LMS portals. By utilizing the advanced capabilities of Kubernetes and Cloudflare, this platform ensures that your website remains fast, secure, and highly scalable. This allows you to focus on growing your business without the hassle of managing infrastructure.
Moreover, Cloudways Autonomous is perfect for customers who prefer a hands-off approach. It eliminates the need for server selection and management, providing a fully managed hosting solution that takes care of everything for you.
For more detailed information about Cloudways Autonomous and its features, visit the Cloudways Autonomous page and check out the Cloudways blog for more insights.
How to Switch from Cloudways Flexible to Cloudways Autonomous
Switching from Cloudways Flexible to Cloudways Autonomous involves several vital steps to ensure a smooth transition and take full advantage of the features that Cloudways Autonomous offers, such as autoscaling, high availability, and improved performance. Here's a checklist to guide you through the process:
Step #1 — Back up Your Application
Before you begin the migration process from Cloudways Flexible to Cloudways Autonomous, you need to have a complete backup of your application and databases. You can choose to back up a specific application or the entire server.
Click Here for a Step-by-Step Guide
Click Here for a Step-by-Step Guide
How to Backup a Specific Application
In Cloudways Flexible, the on-demand backup feature takes a backup of your application files and database. Here application files mean that only the public_html and private_html folders are backed up along with the database.
Log in to Cloudways Platform, click on the Servers tab from the top menu bar and choose your target server where your desired application is deployed, as shown in this screenshot.
Next, click the www icon located on the right-hand side of the server tab. Select a target application that you would like to back up. If you are using New Interface, please click the globe icon and choose your application.
Click on Backup and Restore on the left menu bar and hit Take Backup to initiate the process. In the case of a New Interface, please click Take Backup Now.
The backup processing time depends on the size of the application files and the database. You will be notified once the process is completed.
You will also see the Last Backup Date, which can be used to verify that the on-demand application backup is successfully created.
Step #2 — Launch Your Cloudways Autonomous Application
Launching your Cloudways Autonomous application is a crucial step in transitioning from Cloudways Flexible. This process involves subscribing to a plan that meets your needs and deploying your application on the new platform. Here's how to do it:
Subscribe to a Plan: Log in to your Cloudways Platform and choose the Cloudways Autonomous plan. Subscribe to a plan that fits your needs.
Click Here for a Step-by-Step Guide
Click Here for a Step-by-Step Guide
In this tutorial, you will learn how to subscribe to Cloudways Autonomous to begin your journey.
How to Subscribe to a Cloudways Autonomous Plan
Log in to your Cloudways Platform using your email address and password.
Choose the platform as Cloudways Autonomous from the left menu bar. Next, you will be asked to subscribe to a plan to kick-start.
Next, click Choose Plan.
Next, choose the Plan that fulfills your requirements and click Get Started. You can easily navigate through plans by scrolling horizontally or clicking Compare All Plans to view a detailed comparison of all plans. If you scroll down, you'll find a comprehensive overview of Cloudways Autonomous, including its features, available regions, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and details on overage charges.
Finally, click Confirm Plan.
Deploy Your Application: Launch a new application on Cloudways Autonomous. Ensure you choose the correct region for optimal performance.
Click Here for a Step-by-Step Guide
Click Here for a Step-by-Step Guide
Deploying a new application on the Cloudways Autonomous is super easy.
How to Add an Application on the Cloudways Platform
Step #1
Log in to your Cloudways Platform using your email address and password.
Next, click Add Application.
Step #2
Type the name of your application.
Select your desired server location from the drop-down.
Select your desired application from the drop-down list.
Next, click Launch Application.
Once done, your desired application will be deployed in the next few minutes.
Step #3
Here's how you can view your new application once the installation is completed.
From the side menu bar, open Applications.
Then, choose your desired application.
Step #3 — Migrate Your Applications to Cloudways Autonomous
Migrating your applications from Cloudways Flexible to Cloudways Autonomous is a straightforward process. You have two options for migrating your WordPress applications to Cloudways Autonomous:
Cloudways WordPress Migrator Plugin
You can use the free Cloudways WordPress Migrator Plugin to migrate your applications seamlessly. This method is ideal for users who are comfortable handling the migration and looking for a cost-effective solution.
Click Here for a Step-by-Step Guide
Click Here for a Step-by-Step Guide
Migrating your WordPress website from Cloudway Flexible to Autonomous is very convenient with the WordPress Migrator Plugin at zero cost, no matter how many applications you migrate.
How to Use Cloudways WordPress Migrator Plugin
Step #1 — Install WordPress Migrator Plugin
Next, you must install the Cloudways WordPress Migrator Plugin on your existing WordPress application hosted on Cloudways Flexible. Here’s how you can do it.
Visit your WordPress admin panel and Log In with your credentials.
Select Plugins.
Click Add New.
Next, search for Cloudways WordPress Migrator Plugin.
Click Install Now.
Once the plugin is installed, click Activate.
Next, a migration wizard will appear where you can start inputting the information to kickstart the migration process, as shown in the next step.
Suppose you clicked Activate but did not start adding information to the migration wizard, which is displayed immediately. In that case, you can locate the migration wizard again by selecting Cloudways Migrate from the sidebar in your WordPress admin panel.
Step #2 — Initiate Migration
Next, you will initiate the migration process after entering the following details:
Enter your email address.
Next, agree to the terms & conditions and privacy policy.
Click Migrate.
Here, you need to enter the following information in the form to initiate the migration:
Next, choose your Platform: Cloudways Autonomous.
Enter your Destination Site URL. This is the URL of the application that you launched on Cloudways Autonomous in the earlier step.
Enter your SFTP Host/Server Address. This is your Cloudways host address.
You can find all this information by following this article.
Next, enter your SFTP Username. Your SFTP username is your default username.
Enter your SFTP Password. This is your default user’s password.
Under “HTTP Auth enabled?”, select No as we have not set up any password to visit the Cloudways-hosted application. If your Cloudways-hosted site is restricted and password-protected, select Yes and enter the username and password.
Under “Any root directories you want to migrate?”, select Yes if you also want to migrate your custom non-WordPress directories present in the public_html directory. Otherwise, select No if you don’t wish to migrate your custom directories.
Under "Migrate additional database tables," select Yes if you also want to migrate any additional database tables and mark them; otherwise, select No.
Under “Is this site protected?”, select No if your current WordPress website on another host is not restricted or password-protected. If it is password-protected, then select Yes and enter the username and password.
Finally, click Migrate.
That’s it! The migration has successfully begun. The time required depends on the size of the data being migrated.
Managed Migration by Cloudways Experts
You can also request a managed migration, in which Cloudways' migration experts handle the entire process. This method is perfect for users who prefer a hands-off approach and want to ensure a hassle-free migration with professional oversight.
Both methods ensure that your applications are migrated securely and efficiently to Cloudways Autonomous, allowing you to take advantage of its enhanced features and performance.
Step #4 — Test Your Application
Once the migration is completed, you need to test your site. Please note that your new Autonomous application will have new WP-admin credentials available on the Cloudways Platform. More information is here. Thoroughly test your application on the new Cloudways Autonomous infrastructure to ensure it functions as expected.
Tip
Are you having a problem viewing your site? Purge the Varnish cache from the Cloudways Platform.
Step #5 — Take Your Website Live
Once testing is complete and everything is verified, you must take your new website live. Thus, configuring your DNS settings to point your domain to the new application is the next critical step. This ensures your website is accessible and correctly mapped to the Cloudways Autonomous infrastructure. Here are the steps you need to follow:
Add Your Domain & Update DNS Records
Log in to your Cloudways Platform, navigate to your Cloudways Autonomous application, and add your domain. This step links your domain with your new application.
Next, log in to your domain registrar's control panel and update the DNS records to point to your domain to your Cloudways Autonomous application. Remove any existing A, AAAA, or CNAME records, as they might cause a conflict.
For detailed steps on adding domains and managing DNS records, please look at the following resource: How to Take Your Website Live from Cloudways.
Click Here for a Step-by-Step Guide
Click Here for a Step-by-Step Guide
Map Your Domain & Manage DNS Records
Now, it's time to take your site live with your domain. This involves simple steps, such as adding your domain(s) to the Cloudways Platform and pointing those domains to Cloudways using the DNS records. Cloudways Autonomous uses Cloudflare Enterprise, which means the application you launch leverages Cloudflare Enterprise by default and has an enterprise-grade Web Application Firewall (WAF) and Content Delivery Network (CDN) activated by default, along with edge caching.
Log in to your Cloudways Platform using your email address and password.
From the left menu bar, select Cloudways Autonomous.
Next, click My Applications.
In the Quick Settings bar, select Domain Management.
Next, add your domain. Cloudflare Enterprise supports root domains and subdomains. You can enter a root domain (example.com) or a subdomain (support.example.com).
Entering the root domain also covers the wildcard domain (*.example.com), which means all the subdomains, including the www domain, will be automatically supported and protected by Cloudflare Enterprise.
Next, click Add Domain.
Next, your domain ownership will be verified automatically. Once done, you need to point the CNAME records to point the domain to the Cloudflare Enterprise Network using your DNS registrar panel. Click View CNAME Records to view more information.
The process of adding DNS records varies across different DNS managers. We are using Namecheap and Cloudflare for demonstration purposes.
First, copy both of your CNAME Records (Name/Host and Hostname) by clicking the copy icon.
Important
If your DNS service provider doesn't accept CNAME records for the root domain, we recommend switching to A records by expanding the blue-colored box. The integration can be successfully configured using either A record provided. However, we highly recommend configuring your DNS with both A records to fully leverage our Cloudflare load-balancing network.
Tip
If handling DNS records at your domain registrar seems like a hassle, and you'd prefer centralizing everything on Cloudways, using the DNS Made Easy add-on is your solution. This robust tool simplifies DNS management, allowing you to handle your domain's DNS records directly on the Cloudways Platform.
For step-by-step guidance and more details, see our dedicated article on how to use DNS Made Easy.
Visit your DNS registrar panel, select your domain, and add the CNAME records in the DNS management section of your DNS register:
Important
To avoid conflicts, remove any existing A, AAAA, and CNAME records for your domain before adding the CNAME records.
If you are using Cloudflare as your DNS service manager, you must use the DNS-only proxy mode. This can be done by changing the orange cloud icon to grey.
Type: CNAME
Name/Host: @
In the case of the subdomain, specify that subdomain as name/host as shown on the Cloudways Platform.
Target/Value/Hostname: secure.cloudwayssites.com
TTL: Automatic/Default
Type: CNAME
Name/Host: www
Target/Value/Hostname: secure.cloudwayssites.com
TTL: Automatic/Default
Alternatively, if you use Cloudflare, you can add the same DNS records as shown below in the snapshot. You must use the DNS-only proxy mode. This can be done by changing the orange cloud icon to grey.
Once you have added the DNS records, it may take up to 24 hours for your DNS changes to propagate and be effective. Therefore, Cloudways will periodically check to verify if the required DNS records are added or not for Cloudflare integration.
Switch back to the Cloudways Platform; you will notice the current status as 'Domain is not Live,' which means Cloudways is still verifying the DNS records.
Tip
To reiterate, the time required to complete Cloudflare integration depends on DNS propagation. We will notify you via email once the Cloudflare integration is successful, and the status will change to 'Domain is live'. If the status doesn't update after receiving the email, you can click the ⟳ Refresh button.
Once Cloudflare is integrated with your domain, the status will change to 'Domain is Live'.
That's it! We hope this article was helpful. If you need any help, then feel free to search your query on Cloudways Support Center or contact us via chat (Need a Hand > Send us a Message). Alternatively, you can also create a support ticket.